Friday, June 02, 2006

How Hot Is It?

Greetings from all of us at Hank Lee's Magic Factory. Oh, momma, it has been hot around here. It happens every year. We're all just boppin' along wearing our Spring jackets and thinking that the weather is just peachy keen. When, all of sudden one of those pesky highs rolls in from the Caribbean and, wham, it's hotter 'n' blazes. Maybe the government could build a fence all along the New England border to keep those unwanted Caribbean highs (and of course the Canadian cold fronts in the winter) from getting in. I'm sure it would work as well as the fence they are planning for our southern border.As luck would have it, the air conditioning on the home front chose the hottest day of the year to not work. Murphy's Law strikes again! Actually, we were lucky. Only the upstairs AC was malfunctioning. So, it was nice and comfy on the first floor. You should have seen the race for who got to sleep on the couch! You'll be please to know that Bones the Dog won the race. The rest of us sweated it out.The Summer Extra is on its way to the printer right now. Which means that we will be mailing them off in about two weeks. Which means you will be getting them in about three weeks. So, now is a good time to clean all that junk mail out of your snail-mail box and get ready for the really important mail!We have been working like mad updating the online catalog at www.magicfact.com. All kinds of behind the scenes stuff. Making it run faster. Fixing some little quirky things that we thought could be done better. Tweaking it, as they say in the electronics biz. We should be going live with the new system in about a week. So, keep your eyes open for that.And, now my fellow members of the Hank Lee Nation, it is time to check out the Hotlist at www.magicfact.com.

Bowling Pin Production - From Michael Mode, whose Napkin Rose was one of the biggest hits of 2005, comes the Bowling Pin Production!Your opening effect is the first impression the audience has of you. It needs to be something that’s quick, visual and very magical. The Bowling Pin Production immediately captures their attention. It establishes your presence with something they’ve never seen in a magic show.If you’ve been wanting to improve your show with a killer effect that’s easy to perform, the Bowling Pin Production is it!Start your show and tell the audience, “I just got this jacket back from the cleaners and I think they left a pin in the sleeve.”Remove your jacket, push your arm through the sleeve and produce a real bowling pin! It doesn’t get any more magical than this!Can be done up close in almost any outfit. You can even produce the bowling pin without a jacket, from a short sleeve shirt!Complete Routine: Everything supplied! Authentic bowling pin (weighs just over 3.5 lbs but looks and sounds much heavier!); Hand crafted durable leather gimmick; Professionally produced DVD. Michael teaches all of the details learned from thousands of performances. 25 minutes of tips including a kid show variation.DVD Bonus Effect! Wine Bottle Production! Produce a full bottle of wine to present as a gift at your next show or dinner party! Each unit numbered and signed with complete performance rights. $125.00(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/customer/product.php?productid=8310&cat=&page=1)

Descent - Kevin Parker - Descent is a visual coin through glass that does not require magnets, wires, strings, threads, special coins or special tables.Borrow a coin, drop it in the middle of the table, and push it through. The coin visibly lands in your empty hand, underneath the table. The coin can even be signed, and the coin, with signature on it, is clearly seen in your hand after it falls through the table. With just your bare hands and a coin, you achieve this miracle.Use any kind of coinDifferent objects can be used: candy, paperclips, etc.Easy to perform. $29.95(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/customer/product.php?productid=8317&cat=&page=1)

Iguana - Another amazing idea by Juan Pablo, the creative mind behind Roped, Tie Pin Juan, Bottle Production and many other original effects. The guy simply can’t stop developing outstanding magic! Iguana is a new tool that will allow you to perform close-up, parlor or stage magic with a lot of different propsA card is freely chosen and signed. The card case is also signed. The cards are shuffled and replaced inside the card box, which is then placed inside a clear wine glass. A handkerchief is introduced and the wine glass containing the deck is given to the spectator to hold. Pass the handkerchief over the glass and the card box has completely vanished, leaving the deck of cards in its place, minus the signed card! The signed case appears in your pocket. Inside the case is the spectator's chosen signed card!Far more than a trick. Way beyond a gimmick. Much more than you can imagine. Perform the card in wallet, make a cigarette pack vanish, make a signed pack of cards go to your pocket and many other amazing effects. You get all the necessary props plus an instructional DVD. $58.00(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/customer/product.php?productid=8311&cat=&page=1)

Saw - A spectacular nightmare from the demented mind of Sean Fields.Unravel a length of thread. Immediately and visibly begin to the thread straight into your throat! The spectators can actually see the thread deep under your flesh, from any angle!Now, for the really disturbing part. You begin to pull the thread back through your throat! The spectators can actually see the thread tearing through the skin!After the thread has ripped though the skin, there is no wound, no scars, nothing to see and nothing to find. Just a length of thread, an unharmed neck and the memory of an unspeakable weirdness.Sean Fields has created a deeply disturbing effect, and has teamed up with a somewhat concerned Rodney Reyes to make it available to those that like this sort of thing.Saw = Geek magic. Redefined. Not recommended for kidshows. Ever. $20.00(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/customer/product.php?productid=8312&cat=&page=1)

Sympathetink - Mathiue Bich - 12 routines and loads of tips in order to allow you to get the best out of this pen, worthy of the most secret of secret agents!Write something down on a piece of paper. Magically it disappears and re-appears as something else! Or, you can cause writing to appear on an otherwise blank piece of paper. The impossible is possible with Mathieu Bich's Sympathetink!Ideas from Michael Weber, Sébastien Clergue and Patrick Paccard,Comes complete with pen and 10 page booklet.$18.00(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/customer/product.php?productid=8314&cat=&page=1)

Russian Roulette DVD - Imagine a trick that is as powerful and exciting for the performer as it is for the spectators. An effect that truly never gets boring. An effect that adds drama and suspense to any act. Imagine an effect that can be done anywhere, anytime. An effect that can stand alone as a routine by itself.

No longer do you need to imagine. It is here and it's called Russian Roulette.The Rundown:So at this point you might be asking yourself: "Are these guys insane? Does this use a real gun with live rounds?"No. This effect is the magician's version of the Russian Roulette. It uses no guns at all. In fact it uses just the most basic of props: 3 styrofoam cups and a big scary nail. (other "safe" methods are taught where there are no need for a nail or any dangerous item)The Performance:The magician presents 3 cups and a very sharp nail. He tells the spectator that he may choose any of the 3 cups to put over the nail, and once the nail is covered he should mix the cups around so there is no way for the magician to know where the nail might be. This happens as the magician's back is turned.Now, the magician turns back around and proceeds to dramatically play Russian Roulette, smashing each cup as hard as he can. With each cup the danger grows, one mistake and he'll have a nail right through his hand. With a twist ending, the magician ends up safe and unharmed having chosen the correct cup.WARNING: Due to the nature of this effect, it cannot be sold to anyone under 18. $30.00(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/customer/product.php?productid=8316&cat=&page=1)

Zombie Re-Animated Vol. 1 - Jeb Sherrill - Destined to become one of the most important works on Zombie. This two volume DVD is designed to take a novice to expert level and an expert to master level. Nothing less than comprehensive, Zombie Re-Animated brings you through in-depth explanations of basic equipment, gimmick creation, beginning moves, intermediate and the super advanced techniques, including innovative moves never before seen like Jeb's famed "Foulardless Zombie." Both the ultimate resource and learning tool. Zombie Re-Animated might just be the final word on Zombie.On This Volume: How to construct your own gimmicks, tips on the foulards and zombie balls, tips and tricks to performing some of zombie's most reliable and effective moves.Basic and Intermediate moves including:* Hide & Seek* Spin Around* Body Vanishes* Isolation* The Table Hook-Up* Elbow Hook-Up* Sleeve Hook-Up* Cradle* Elbow Rotation* Side Slide* Escaping Zombie* Foulard Slide* Around The Body* Hide N' Sneakand more. $35.00(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/customer/product.php?productid=8318&cat=&page=1)

And, that's a good hard look at all the great new stuff filling our shelves this week. Despite the weather, or maybe because of it, this stuff is really hot!I do hope you will find some time to spend with us online at www.magicfact.com, or in person at our fabulous retail shop at 112 South Street in downtown Boston. Either way, we do love the company!Hank Lee